The University of Illinois is “strongly recommending” masks in classrooms beginning Monday after the university saw a rise in COVID cases as students returned to campus for the start of the new school year.
Chancellor Robert Jones said “high-quality” face coverings will be strongly urged during in-person classes for “the next several weeks” amid the recent case spike.
“While repopulating campus for the Fall 2022 semester, we have seen an increase in COVID-19 cases and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has given Champaign County a COVID-19 Community Level of “High,” indicating increased COVID-19 spread in our area,” Jones wrote in a letter to both students and staff Sunday, adding that “this time period is critical as we expect our on-campus cases to peak.”
While noting that face coverings aren’t required, they are “strongly recommended based on increased cases and CDC guidance.”
“We are asking supervisors and instructors to show compassion to students and employees who are not feeling well,” Jones wrote in his letter. “Some individuals are not medically able to wear a face covering. Please be understanding and empathetic.”
The university reported 9% of its “community” has been full vaccinated and the majority of cases seen so far this semester have been “very mild or asymptomatic.”
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Champaign County remains under a “high community level” for COVID, meaning indoor masking in public spaces is recommended.
from NBC Chicago https://ift.tt/LnztXAT
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